Strict SOPs to prevent unwanted crowd in casualty, says GMC dean

Panaji:

Dean of the Goa Medical College, Dr S Bandekar, said on Monday that a decision was taken to formulate strict standard operating proceudres (SOPs) for casualty treatment.He said that the medical superintendent and heads of all departments are part of the decision.“We will develop strong SOPs along with a monitoring committee headed by four different heads of departments,” he said, adding that this would prevent “unwanted” patients from coming to GMC’s casualty department. “This is a strong decision that has been taken to streamline the casualty so that an unwanted crowd doesn’t come to the emergency department,” he said.The casualty department has a capacity of 30-40 patients, but receives 90-100, he said. “From now on, casualty will only handle emergencies,” he said. When asked about delays in the casualty department, he said that sometimes, routine investigations take an hour by the time reports are received. He also said that in medico-legal cases, care has to be taken to write the reports.Bandekar said there will be a total ban on videography and photography in patient care areas of GMC, and said that an FIR would be registered against the videographer who shot the incident in casualty.

“We have already put up placards and notices. We will ensure security officers, and we will deploy police to strictly monitor the casualty area,” he said, adding that an SOP will be formulated for VIP treatment.When asked whether the videography rules apply only to media persons, and when pointed out that the health minister walks into govt setups with cameras rolling, Bandekar said restrictions are for everybody and not restricted to media alone, and added that patients’ privacy must be protected.